The deal increases Betclic’s footprint in international football, something it is denied in its home country due to current French gambling laws. These restrictions are expected to be lightened with the implementation of the new French gambling laws, which permit restricted online gambling.

Referring to the deal, which is believed to be worth at least Euro 16 million, Juventus president Jean-Claude Blanc said, “In a very difficult economic context we have identified an international partner of primary standing with which to put into practice an innovative commercial strategy which shares the rights of the first and the second jersey.”

Juventus are reportedly seeking to sell the naming rights to their new stadium. The old Stadio Delle Alpi has already been knocked down and the new ground will be ready for competitions in June 2011.

“The affidavits supporting the seizures of all 12 accounts are under seal, so the nature of the investigation behind them remains secret. For several years now, however, the feds in Maryland have been pursuing alleged money laundering in the internet-gambling realm, and last year filed charges against two men, Edward Courdy and Michael Garone, said to be tied to the online gambling titan Bodog, owned by Calvin Ayre, a Canadian living in exile.

“Public documents available in the Maryland-based Bodog investigation show the lead investigative agency to be the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Division, whereas in the recent bank-account seizures, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) law enforcers are submitting the court filings. Most of the accounts seized are located in California cities near Los Angeles (La Habra, Anaheim, and Long Beach), though one is in Cherry Hill, N.J., and another in Sioux Falls, S.D.

“The most recent seizure case, which was made public on Sept. 23 on the federal courts online service, PACER, involved the six Wachovia accounts in the name of Forshay Enterprises. U.S. District Court magistrate Judge James Bredar signed the warrant on Aug. 28, based on a sealed affidavit provided by Richard S. Gunn, an Anne Arundel County police detective and ICE task-force officer, who requested the Forshay account seizures, court documents show…”

Stated Doyle Brunson, “Moorman reminds me a lot of me, except for the British accent. He’s a poker natural, a legend in the making, and that’s why I’ve handpicked him to be the next member of The Brunson 10, my new team of elite poker players who truly are young legends of the game.”

As the fourth member of The Brunson 10, Chris Moorman of the United Kingdom is a natural fit. Cardplayer.com currently ranks Chris Moorman as the second best Online Player of the Year. While he trails to the first place player by a handful of Online Player of the Year Points, he has more monetary winnings to his name.

Moorman’s over $1.6 million lifetime winnings include nine career titles and 124 cashes, made up of online poker successes and notable land-based poker achievements, too.

The Brunson 10 originally launched with three members – Alec Torelli, Amit Makhija and Zachary Clark – all of whom began their poker careers online and achieved enormous success at live card rooms as well. Doyle Brunson, poker’s biggest legend, will continue to handpick members for his group of elite poker players who are on board to help bridge the gap between old-school poker and the new world that exists online.

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The challenge was initiated in 2004 after Ladbrokes request to operate on and off –line horserace and sports betting games was rejected by the Norwegian Government.

Ladbrokes claimed that laws restricting Norway’s commercial gambling markets solely to games offered by state-owned firms Norsk Tipping and Norsk Rikstoto were in violation of European Economic Area rules, but has since been defeated in decisions rendered both in Norway and at the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court in Luxembourg.

The company had the right to appeal to the Norwegian High Court, however, a spokesman has said “that it no longer considered that its interests would be best served by continuing the case”.

The company denies any link to the recent ECJ ruling against Bwin and their decision to withdraw from this case and have said that Ladbrokes’ European Court of Justice challenge against the Dutch internet gambling monopoly would continue.

In fact, Mr. Paddy Power, the director of communications for the Irish bookmaking operation that bears his name, was so disturbed by what was happening at Hazeltine National Golf Club during the final round that he watched the action from his toilet.

“I had to,” Mr. Power giggled as he spoke to Casino City on Thursday. “I was as sick as a parrot.”

And with good reason. Woods’ epic loss to South Korean unknown and eventual winner Y.E. Yang cost the Irish bookie £1.25 million after Mr. Power made the bold – but in retrospect costly – decision on Friday evening to pay off all of his clients that wagered on Tiger to win the event after he took what appeared to be a commanding four-stroke lead with two rounds to go.

Instead of closing out the victory – something he had done in a major championship the previous 14 times he held the 36-hole lead – Woods, who was a 1-to-5 favorite to win heading into Sunday’s final round, coughed up the lead and watched Yang stun the golf world.

“Hey, 1-for-15 isn’t too bad,” Mr. Power said with another laugh. “Unfortunately for us, the one time he doesn’t close the deal, we end up with an ostrich-size egg all over our face.”

It wasn’t the first time that Paddy Power has paid off its clients before an event came to an official end – and Mr. Power vowed it wouldn’t be the last. From time to time, Paddy Power likes to take a chance and pay off bets prematurely. It did so with Barack Obama backers before the primary and general elections – both of which were won by Obama, of course.

“It’s something we like to do from time to time to prove to our punters that we’re willing to take a chance too,” he explained. “Our bettors take a chance every day when they place a bet. We like to show that we’re not afraid to gamble either. And we’re usually right more often than we’re wrong.”

But the 34-year-old did admit that this time the gamble cost the company more than ever before, “by a mile.” And it could have been a lot worse. Because of where it is stationed, Paddy Power typically receives a large number of bets on Irish golfer Padraig Harrington in major events. Harrington began Sunday two strokes off the lead and if he had prevailed, the total loss for Paddy Power would have been closer to £5 million.

“That was the only saving grace,” Power said. “But this still ranks as one of the more idiotic things we’ve ever done. It takes a special kind of dimwit to turn what should have been a great day for us into one of the worst.”

Asked if he would make the same decision if given the chance with Woods in the future, Power wouldn’t rule it out.

“Chances are that if Tiger is in that position again, he’s going to win,” Power said. “Would we be stupid enough to do it again? Probably. Watch this space. It could happen.”

“Most people don’t get to compete against their favorite athletes in sports like football or basketball,” said Steve Schirripa, who once served as the entertainment director of a Las Vegas strip hotel. “This show gives contestants an incomparable opportunity to test their skills against some of the best poker players in the world. The same people they’ve read about or have watched on TV are the ones they have to defeat for chance at winning life-changing money.”

The premise of the show is simple – contestants will select a pro from behind four smoked-glass doors (the “Aces”); the contestant and the pro will play heads-up no limit hold’em for $40,000. If the contestant wins, they can keep the $40,000 or play a different pro for $200,000. If the contestant wins the second match, they can keep the $200,000 or play a third pro for $1,000,000. Win a third match and they take home $1 million. If the contestant loses at any point, they walk away with nothing.

The poker pros won’t be laying down either, as each match they win secures $10,000 for their charity of choice.

All “Face the Ace” contestants were selected from a group of players that qualified online at www.facetheace.com and www.fulltiltpoker.net.

Fifteen professional poker players were chosen to rotate throughout the show representing the “Aces,” – Patrik Antonius, Andy Bloch, Allen Cunningham, Chris Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, John Juanda, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Huck Seed, Erik Seidel, and Gavin Smith. Collectively, these pros have won 41 World Series of Poker bracelets, 11 World Poker Tour open titles, and amassed nearly $100 million in live tournament winnings.

In addition to Schirripa, Ali Nejad, the voice of NBC’s “Poker After Dark,” functions as the tournament director while providing occasional commentary, and Megan Abrigo, a regular on NBC’s “Deal or No Deal” where she is best known as Briefcase Model #6, serves as the hostess.

With this new show NBC, the network behind the popular “Poker After Dark” and the annual “National Heads-Up Poker Championship,” continues its dedication to providing the best poker programming on television.

“Face the Ace” is produced by Poker PROductions, which also produces “Poker After Dark” for NBC.

But attorneys for the state contended that Laurel Racing’s failure to put up a $28.5 million licensing fee simply disqualifies the company from consideration because it failed to play by the rules defined in law.

Michael Berman, an attorney for Laurel Racing, argued before the Court of Appeals that Laurel Racing did not submit the license fee, because the law did not adequately guarantee a refund if a state commission did not grant the license. He said the lack of clarity was a big concern, considering the amount of the fee.

“One of the problems with this statute is the uncertainty that it created for companies trying to operate in the marketplace,” Berman told the court.

But Austin Schlick, an assistant attorney general, emphasized that the money is refundable and that Laurel Racing failed to raise its concern about whether the fee was refundable before a February deadline. Schlick said Laurel Racing mentioned “market reasons” for why it wasn’t submitting the fee.

“It never suggested that the fees were unconstitutional and never suggested that they were nonrefundable,” Schlick said.

Laurel Racing, which is a subsidiary of bankrupt Magna Entertainment Corp., has expressed interest in putting 4,750 slot machines at Laurel Park, a horse racing track in Anne Arundel County.

Baltimore-based developer Cordish Cos. has proposed a 200,000-square-foot entertainment complex, including a casino with 4,750 slot machines, near Arundel Mills mall. But the Anne Arundel site has been complicated by a county zoning measure that is needed, and local officials have delayed a vote four times.

Alan Rifkin, who also is representing Laurel Racing, said the company would like to see the entire bidding process done over again, with a clear expression by the state that the licensing fees would be refundable to unsuccessful bidders.

“Anybody who bid on February 2 should have an opportunity to reassess and understand whether or not the initial license fee is refundable,” Rifkin said after court.

But Schlick said Laurel Racing simply wants to “rewrite the rules” in its favor. Also, three companies already have put up licensing fees along with their bids, as defined in the law.

“We’re not concerned with the reasons why Laurel Racing and Magna were unable to present the money to the state by the February deadline,” Schlick told reporters. “What matters is that they didn’t, and it’s because they didn’t submit that money that they’re ineligible for a license.”

Maryland is in the middle of a slot machine licensing process that has been tortured by the recession.

Initial bids submitted in February were a disappointment to state officials hoping to generate additional revenue in tough budget times. The national recession and a credit crunch created a difficult climate for businesses to bid on the licenses.

Of a possible 15,000 slot machines at five locations, developers only bid on 6,500 machines at four spots, including Anne Arundel, Cecil and Worcester Counties and Baltimore city. A fifth venue at Rocky Gap State Park had its only bidder rejected from the process after it also failed to put up a licensing fee.

Rep. Jim Craig, D-Manchester, said he has invited any House members who support legalized slot machines to join him at a noon press conference.

Rep. David Hess, R-Hooksett, plans to bring Attorney General Kelly Ayotte to a forum on why slot machine gambling would be bad for the state.

The House has traditionally opposed expanded gambling, while the Senate has been more receptive.

The issue is expected to move the forefront next week as a committee of conference on the budget hammers out a revenue package to support roughly $11.5 billion in spending over the next two years.

The gambling package that passed in the Senate budget plan, on a 16-8 vote, calls for up to 13,000 slot machines at race tracks and two North Country casinos. The bill prices licenses at $50 million for the Rockingham Park horse track, and $20 million each at dog tracks in Belmont and Seabrook and the potential casinos.

Ayotte and police chiefs are opposed to any expansion of gaming that includes slot machines. Hess complained that the Senate plan hasn’t been through a single public hearing, and was passed as a last minute budget fix in the Senate Finance Committee.

He said a noon session of the ad-hoc House Anti-Casino Coalition will focus on discussion of the plan’s shortcomings.

“Even if it can’t go through the whole vetting process, this is a major policy decision and we’d better know more about,” said Hess.

Craig said he doesn’t know how many House members will show up with him today. The closest a casino bill came to passage in the House this year was a 295-72 vote that killed the bill, HB 593.

Craig said, “I’m a realist. It’s never gotten a really good reception in the House. I just want people in the House to know it’s a viable option. Sometimes they need cover, to hear someone say this is the way to go even if it’s not leadership’s preferred source of revenue.”

Rep. Christine Hamm, D-Hopkinton, who chaired a 16-month study of gambling expansion, will be with Craig.

“I went into the study with an open but, I think, skeptical mind,” she said. “We have all this information and I don’t think people have looked at it without having their minds already made up.”

Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, estimated that passage of a slot machine bill would produce $205 million over the next two years. Lately he has cautioned that it could take time for the full build-out of a legalized system to take place.

The resolution, which also called for opposing other efforts to raise more revenue through “addictive and predatory” gambling, was championed by Kathleen Norbut of Monson, a member of the Democratic State Committee.

She says it was designed to send a message to state lawmakers, who are expected to decide in the fall whether to legalize casinos.

John Walsh, the state party chairman, says the resolution shouldn’t be viewed as a blow to the Democratic governor, who supports casinos.